Letters to Dumbledore
by wizards-inmyattic
Summary: Petunia Dursely was shocked to find her son upset over a letter he had written to Professor Dumbledore. She is instantly reminded of a letter she wrote to the Hogwarts headmaster years ago... A short Dursely one-shot fic.


**Letters to Dumbledore**

**Plot: **Petunia Dursely was shocked to find her son upset over a letter he had written to Dumbledore. She is instantly reminded of a letter she wrote to the Hogwarts headmaster years ago...

**A/N: **I'm actually not 100% sure how I feel about this one. At least not the ending. Anyway, read on.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter, Dudley Dursley, Petunia Dursley, Vernon Dursley, Lily Potter/Evans, James Potter or any other characters you recognize. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction... but I also make no profit from this whatsoever and all that jazz.

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Petunia Dursley wondered where the soft sniffling noise was coming from. Her sister's child was staying with the ginger freak family, and Vernon was at work. Dudley never cried… so who was it? It became clear that Dudley was the source of the mysterious sound, so Petunia climbed the stairs to her son's bedroom and knocked softly three times.

"Come in." Dudley's voice was muffled.

The woman was shocked to find him lying face-down on top of his bed, arms and legs out at odd angles like a discarded doll's.

"Dudders," Petunia whispered, sitting down on the edge of the bed tentatively. "What's the matter sweetheart? Do you want more toys?"

Dudley looked up, mortified. "I'm _twelve, _mum. I don't play with toys. And if I did, I wouldn't call it a toy."

"Right." Petunia picked up a remote-controlled car from Dudley's dresser and examined it with a curious expression. "What's this then?"

"Nothing."

Petunia smiled down at the forlorn boy. "Now tell mummy what's wrong."

Silently, Dudley pulled a crumpled piece of paper from under his pillow and handed it to his mother, his brow furrowed in frustration. He watched her expression as she silently scanned the letter. When she was finished, Petunia wrapped him in a hug.

_**Mr. Dumbledore,**_

_**Hello. I'm Harry Potter's cousin. I was wondering if maybe this year I could go to the Hogwarts school with Harry. I would never tell Harry this, but it seems like fun. He made friends with other magical people and they got to do cool magical spells and things together. If Harry can make friends, I could too, right? **_

_**Maybe since you're a wizard, you could have some way for me to do magic without having the magic in me. Or maybe I'm just a late bloomer? **_

_**Also, I'm not sure how I would get wizard supplies like a wand and a cauldron. I know Harry's parents left him wizard money, but I don't have any. Is there some sort of… wizard credit card I could use until I graduate Hogwarts and get a job? Is there interest?**_

_**Sorry about that. I'm getting off topic. I was supposed to be asking about admittance to Hogwarts. Hopefully the answer is yes.**_

_**If you could reply at your earliest convenience, that would be great. Thanks. **_

_**Dudley Dursley**_

There was a reply on the other side of the letter.

_**Dear Dudley,**_

_**I'm extremely upset to be the bearer of bad news. While I'm sure Hogwarts would benefit greatly from a fine young man such as yourself, it is only open to those able to perform magic. I'm very sorry that the magical gene was not passed down to you, but you would not be able to properly follow our curriculum. Magic is needed for all aspects of our school (save perhaps History of Magic and Astronomy, but many a student has come to me and said that History of Magic is boring. Hopefully you aren't missing out on anything in that department). **_

_**Wishing you the best,  
Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore**_

Petunia wasn't sure what to say to her son. He reminded her so much of herself, for years ago, she had written a similar letter to Dumbledore asking to go to Hogwarts like Lily. The response was also similar, but very different.

Dudley flopped back down on his bed, giving a melodramatic sigh.

"He's a freak," Petunia said after a moment. "And… and a waste of space. You wouldn't want to be surrounded by his lot all the time would you? It's better this way. My sister was a freak and look at what happened to her."

"Do you still think about her? Aunt Lily, I mean."

"I do," said Petunia. "But that doesn't change the fact that she was a freak."

Dudley pondered this. "Well, I don't think Harry's a waste of space."

"Don't you ever tell him that," said Petunia.

"I won't," Dudley answered.

And he meant it. If Harry got to go to magical school and do cool tricks, Dudley could have secrets of his own. It was only fair. For a few years, Dudley began to truly understand his mother's words. Harry wasn't special. He was a freak.

Just like the ginger family.

Just like his parents.

But years later, his own words came back to him. Harry wasn't a waste of space. He had saved his life.


End file.
